City of Somerville wants $138K from 240 Elm St. landlord before bfresh grocery can open

[ron_newman]

from Wicked Local/Somerville Journal:
Somerville officials demand $138K in labor costs after collapse before grocery moves into 240 Elm St

mayoral spokeswoman Jackie Rossetti told the Journal officials have sent Argiros numerous other invoices seeking an additional $138,044.14 for city-labor related expenses surrounding the building between July 22, 2015 and March 3. She said city officials will hold the building’s certificate of occupancy until they receive the payment.
Work cited in the invoices include fire and police detail, DPW labor, material, and overtime costs, inspectional services overtime, and traffic and parking meter and overtime expenses, with traffic and parking payments alone costing more than $75,000.

Comments

[mindstalk.livejournal.com]

In this case I'd be all for seizing the land under eminent domain. Under Kelo, even, unless state law has ruled that out. Five years vacancy in Davis Square is tres ridiculous.

[keithn.livejournal.com]

Blame the city on that one. The owner tried to fill the building a few times but the city decided it would only let him open a fresh locally grown produce grocery store in that location. The owner found one (Roche Bros) but they pulled out for still unknown reasons. It turns out that while the city can dictate to a building owner what permits they will give him or her, a building owner cannot dictate to a business of the mandated type that they must move in.

You could make a decent argument that the city should pay him for lost income on the building. Maybe they both should call it a wash and stop being foolish.

[mindstalk.livejournal.com]

Fair enough. I'd forgotten my disgust at the city's micromanagement of new business uses.